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I've been like a coiled spring waiting to burst into action for the last few weeks. The anticipation of the start of my training has been hard to take. I must be mad. Normal people would probably enjoy the calm before the inevitable storm. But not me. I'm desperate to put all of the words into action. I also think that getting such a huge pledge as I did yesterday has spurred me into action.
I've already brought the start of my training forward once but I feel the time is right to do that again. So instead of a November 2008 start date I now have a September 2008 start date! Yes, that's tomorrow!
It's going to be a nice steady start, covering the usual lunchtime routes as well as trying to get out for a run before and after work on some days. The target is a nice steady 50 miles for the next 3 weeks. This will reduce down to 30 miles in the 4th week before I add a little bit on for the next 4 week cycle.
This slight increase in mileage will continue right up up until July 2009 when I should be able to run 110 miles per week, again decreasing down to 65 miles per week in the 4th week.
Hopefully by then, with David and Mark's help I'll have the nutrition side of things sorted out. I've noticed that since I've started drinking beer again my diet has been effected immensely. I never was good at drinking 8 pints without a kebab! This is just one more reason to start training early. I've had 3 good sessions on the beer in the last 3 weeks. The effect it's had on my diet not to mention training has been very noticeable. So with that in mind I'll be knocking the beer on the head after September. I've got 2 night's out planned and after that I'll be totally on the wagon. It'll not be that much of a miss. It never is. I didn't have a beer between February and August this year. I survived!
Anyway, watch this space for regular updates of my training. The next 3 years are going to be some of the toughest and most rewarding of my life. Oh and remember that the longest journeys start with just a few small steps. The first of which will be at about 12:15 tomorrow on a 5 mile run to Newcastle Race Course and back! Let the fun begin!

subset: commoncrawl


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Buck's 2022 ICD-10-PCS Elsevier E-Book on VitalSource, 1st Edition
Elsevier eBook on VitalSource
Now $77.89
Choose the book designed by coders for coders! Buck's 2022 ICD-10-PCS includes all the ICD-10-PCS codes you need to know to ensure the most accurate billing and reimbursement for inpatient medical procedure coding. As coders need extensive knowledge to code with ICD-10-PCS — and to choose from the thousands of possible codes — this edition provides colorful anatomy plates (including Netter's Anatomy illustrations) and tables organized to simplify the process of choosing and building procedure codes. It comes with durable spiral binding and includes a companion website with the latest coding updates.
- ICD-10-PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (OGCR) provide easier reference to coding rules when they are needed most.
- Convenient Guide to the 2022 Updates in the front of the book lists all new, revised, and deleted codes, providing at-a-glance lookup of the coding changes.
- Unique! Full-color anatomy plates (including Netter's Anatomy art) are included in the front of the book to help you understand complex anatomic information and how it may affect choosing codes.
- American Hospital Association's Coding Clinic® citations include official ICD-10-PCS coding advice relating to specific codes and their usage.
- Hospital Acquired Condition (HAC) symbol notes procedures related to HACs as outlined in the MS-DRG.
- Symbols for Non-Covered and Limited-Coverage Procedures indicate related material outlined in the Definitions of Medicare Code Edits.
- Sex edits from the Definition of Medicare Code Edits denote codes that are used only with patients of a specific sex.
- Non-Operating Room Procedure symbols identify procedures that do and do not affect MS-DRG assignment.
- Combinations symbol identifies procedures that can affect MS-DRG assignment.
- Online Appendix: Procedure Combination Table displays each procedure cluster and the corresponding DRG, as well as a few procedure combinations that are designated as non-OR.
- NEW! Updated 2022 Official Code set reflects the latest ICD-10 codes needed for procedural coding.
ICD-10-PCS Symbols and Conventions Guide to the 2022 Updates Introduction ICD-10-PCS Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting Netter's Anatomy Illustrations TABLES
0 Medical and Surgical 1 Obstetrics 2 Placement 3 Administration 4 Measurement and Monitoring 5 Extracorporeal Assistance and Performance 6 Extracorporeal Therapies 7 Osteopathic 8 Other Procedures 9 Chiropractic B Imaging C Nuclear Medicine D Radiation Oncology F Physical Rehabilitation and Diagnostic Audiology G Mental Health H Substance Abuse Treatment X New Technology
INDEX Appendix A, Definitions Appendix B, Body Part Key Appendix C, Device Key Appendix D, Substance Key Appendix E, Device Aggregate Table Appendix F, Procedure Combination Table on codingupdates.com


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The core pillar of Vedic Dharma is Matruvat Paradareshu – All women are my mother. Even husband and wife are supposed to love each other in same manner as a cow loves its newborn calf.
To regard a woman as deserving anything except the respect that we accord to our mother is a recipe for doom. To depict or exploit women for lustful purpose deserves harshest punishment as per Vedas. A society that commoditizes women is bound to breed terrorism, violence, hatred, tragedies, fear and death. The best example is the world today.
Western aworld, with its obsession for immoral lifestyle, is becoming a society of maniacs and psychopaths. The Muslim world is becoming breeding ground for terrorists and fanatics because women are not allowed to have competence and authority to act as first teachers of the child. Hindus are a society of contradictions. Though they know their foundations of Vedas vaguely, the genes of slavery for 1000 years and tendency to seek solutions from outside rather than inside make Hindus as hypocritical as the western world. Thus while Hindus would agree to consider woman as mother, many a fools would go to any length to prohibit for woman the right to recite Vedas or perform rituals. Due to such a mindset, it is a matter of utter shame that the land that preserved Vedas for millenniums cannot boast of better quality of life, status and education for women compared to men.
Vedic code of law asserts that punishment is more severe for the more capable. Thus it is perfectly in sync with natural laws that Bharat aka India is among the most spineless nations of the world. What more can you expect from the land of sages when half the female population is illiterate, gender ratio is significantly skewed, bigamy laws are virtually non-enforceable, rape does not carry death-penalty and even ministers indulge in such acts and even educated women are denied rights to study Vedas by those claiming to be defendants of Dharma. And that when symbolically woman is worshipped as Goddess in popular mythology!
Vedas however have a different stand. As per Vedic Dharma, the first and foremost criteria for success of a society is that women are accorded the high respect thatthey rightly deserve. Without that eventhe otherwise noble deeds would be fruitless. The Vedic Woman has to be respected as Mother. Period.
Saraswati, Mata, Usha, Aditi or Devi do not refer to some divine forms that no one ever witnessed. On contrary, they refer to the woman living on this earth. It is mark of a fool to discard the diamonds in his home and pray for pebbles to be showered from skies!
So instead of offering dhoop to a Durga sitting on a lion, society would be performing true worship of the divine if it works to make each woman among us into a brave warrior and leader. Instead of offering batasha to a Saraswati sitting on a lotus, we need to work towards nurturing Vedic experts from woman who enlighten the society and stay above the garbage of society like on a lotus. Instead of chanting 'Jai Mata Di', we need to proclaim loudly and proudly that we would respect ALL women as our mothers through thoughts, words and actions – regardless of age, caste, religion, geography etc.
The status of woman as MOTHER, in Vedic culture, is accorded not only to an aged lady or someone who has a physical child but to a female in general – be she a child, girl, youth or elderly. This is because a woman acts as mother in a variety to ways beyond biological motherhood. The family or society becomes worth civilized living because of presence of woman. Criminal or immoral tendencies are significantly reduced due to woman. If you review any statistics on crimes, narcotics, abusive language, violence etc, this fact would become evident. A woman brings us gift of noble innate qualities. It is upon all of us now to decide whether to benefit from them or plan our own destruction by refusing to respect the motherly woman.
Here are a few mantras from Vedas on glory of Woman – the Mother. May we take inspiration from them and accord all women the respect that they rightly deserve. And may all women inspire themselves to get rid of all ignorant acts and rise up to fulfill the great responsibility that they owe to the society.
Rigveda 10.17.10: O Mothers! Purify us with your compassion, understanding and enlightenment. The women cleanse us all from all our sins, corruption and defects. We come out firm, pure and noble from their blessed company.
Yajurveda 6.17: O pure and blessing Mothers! Cleanse us all from sins, immorality and pollution. Purge us from falsehood, hatred, jealousy and frustrations.
Yajurveda 6.31: O pure and blessing Mothers! Satisfy our mind, speech, life, eyes, ears, soul and society with nobleness.
Atharvaveda 3.13.7: O pure and blessing Mothers! I am your beloved son. O powerful mother, please guide me towards fulfillment of my noble aspirations.
Rigveda 6.61.7: O enlightening Mother! You have the potential to destroy the evil. You have a character as pure as gold. You have the potential to destroy the clouds of frustrations and doubt. You are brave and you only aspire for our well-being and success! We are indeed blessed!
Atharvaveda 7.68.2: O enlightening Mother! May you always shower your blessings in form of peace, happiness and success. May you always be pleased with us and may we never conduct any act that excludes us from your blessing gaze.
Rigveda 1.113.6: O enlightening blessing Mother! May you inspire us into the path of valor and protection of nation, society and world. May you inspire us to conduct vigorous efforts for well-being of all. May you inspire us to conduct selfless noble deeds or Yajna. May you inspire us to seek economic prosperity for all of us through sustainable means. May you inspire us to enlighten the entire society with knowledge. May you do so for entire world regardless of false divisions of gender, geography, birth, beliefs, religions etc.
Rigveda 1.113.19: O life-giving enlightening Mother! May all noble people respect you and you guide them as mother. May you be the protector of society, nation and world. May you glow as the flag of all noble, virtuous and spiritual actions. May you eradicate the darkness of ignorance through the brilliance of your knowledge. May you teach us Vedic wisdom in actions and emotions. May you be mother for entire world and provide us new birth through knowledge and compassion. In this manner, lead us into the path of glory and prosperity.
Rigveda 7.75.2: O enlightening Mother! Inspire us into the path of the noble ones and gift us with success. Guide us into tremendous glory and enormous prosperity through virtuous deeds. With your blessings, may we desire for fame that comes through noble actions. And do it RIGHT NOW!
Rigveda 7.77.4:O enlightening Mother! Cleanse us of the feeling of enmity within us. Strengthen the path of generosity and eradicate all meanness from us. Thus, bring us prosperity and inspire us into the path of success through positivity.
Rigveda 8.18.6: O pure-hearted noble Mother! Gift us with intellect and emotional quotient. Get rid of our hypocrisy. Cleanse us of our sins and inspire us to conduct noble acts in all circumstances.
Rigveda 8.18.7: May the pure life-giving enlightening woman be respected as mother everyday so that she provides us with peace and eradicates all hatred from the society.
Rigveda 8.67.12: O Mother! You conduct noble actions and have a pure mind. Cleanse us of our sins and provide us path of success. Inspire us to lead a life full of progress, compassion and honesty.
Atharvaveda 7.6.4: We want tremendous power. Hence we please motherly pure woman with our noble words and actions. She is as patient as the wide sky. She shall remove our miseries and provide us shelter in all situations.
Rigveda 10.59.5: O life-giving Mother! Provide us with strong will-power and noble intellect. Propel us to prolong our lives with noble actions. May we enlighten the world as sun. May you nourish us with happiness.
Rigveda 10.59.6: O life-giving Mother! Bless us with eyes that see noble and life that conducts noble actions. May we always work for progress and enjoy bliss. May our intellect be always pure and virtuous.
Yajurveda 35.21: O patient Mother! May you provide us happiness and support. May you provide us fame and bliss. May you destroy our sins and purify us.
Yajurveda 6.36: O Mother! May the society appreciate your potential. May they seek your blessings from east, west, north, south and everywhere. And may you bless them with prosperity and happiness.
Yajurveda 11.68: O Mother! Protect us from infighting. Protect us from violence and hatred. Propel us to conduct noble acts of valor. May we together conduct virtuous acts alone.
Rigveda 1.22.11: May the noble mothers and wives of noble persons remain always prosperous and bless us with happiness and bliss.
Yajurveda 12.15: If you desire brilliance, approach the mother. With her blessing, be the scholar of all subjects. Do not aggrieve the mother. Enlighten yourself with pure blessings of the noble mother.
May these pearls of wisdom inspire us all to lay foundation of a society that respects and nurtures women to conduct their duties as mothers of entire humanity. May the women never deviate from this glorious path. May we never deviate from lowering our respect for the motherly woman. And may we all work together to annihilate – within and outside us – all those forces that attempt to cause such deviations.
There is absolutely no other way for individual and societal bliss!
References: Commentaries by Swami Dayanand, Vedic Naari by Pt Ramnath Vedalankar, Vedik Shabdarth Vichar by Pt Ramnath Vedalankar, Vedic Kosh by Pt Rajveer Shastri.


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Related links:
This is an aerial view of Cuzco. In the center of the picture, the cathedral of Cuzco can be seen. This cathedral was built in the 17th century.Cuzco is located in Southern Peru. It is the ancient capital of the Inca Empire. It is the oldest, continuously occupied city in the Americas. In ancient times, Cuzco was the ceremonial capital and hub of the Inca road network which made up of about 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) of roads.
Ancient Cuzco was also closely linked to the Sun. In fact, at the center of the ancient Cuzco, there was a Temple of the Sun called Coricancha. It is thought that Coricancha served as an observatory for solstices, equinoxes, eclipses and other important time markers. Religious rituals and daily life (such as in the planting of crops) were based on these time markers. From Coricancha emanated 42 sacred lines or ceques. Along these ceques, there were shrines or huacas that were important to the Incas. These huacas could be anything from canals to fountains to stone markers.


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LONDON (AP) — Julian Assange's lawyer was arranging on Monday to deliver the WikiLeaks founder to British police for questioning in a sex-crimes investigation of the man who has angered Washington by spilling thousands of government secrets on the Internet.
Lawyer Mark Stephens told reporters in London that the Metropolitan Police had called him to say they had received an arrest warrant from Sweden for Assange. Assange has been staying at an undisclosed location in Britain.
"We are in the process of making arrangements to meet with police by consent," Stephens said, declining to say when Assange's interview with police would take place.
Scotland Yard refused to comment.
The 39-year-old Australian is accused of rape and sexual molestation in Sweden, and the case could lead to his extradition. He has denied the accusations, which Stephens has said stem from a "dispute over consensual but unprotected sex." The lawyer has said the Swedish investigation has turned into a "political stunt."
The pressure on WikiLeaks mounted from other quarters Monday: Swiss authorities closed Assange's bank account, depriving him of a key fundraising tool. And WikiLeaks struggled to stay online despite more hacker attacks and resistance from world governments, receiving help from computer-savvy advocates who have set up hundreds of "mirrors" — or carbon-copy websites — around the world.
In one of its most sensitive disclosures yet, WikiLeaks released on Sunday a secret 2009 diplomatic cable listing sites around the world that the U.S. considers critical to its security. The locations include undersea communications lines, mines, food suppliers, manufacturers of weapons components, and vaccine factories.
Pentagon spokesman Col. David Lapan called the disclosure damaging and said it gives valuable information to the nation's enemies.
"This is one of many reasons why we believe WikiLeaks' actions are irresponsible and dangerous," Lapan said.
WikiLeaks has been under intense international scrutiny over its disclosure of a mountain of classified U.S. cables that have embarrassed Washington and other governments. U.S. officials have been putting pressure on WikiLeaks and those who help it, and is investigating whether Assange can be prosecuted for espionage.
In what Assange described as a last-ditch deterrent, WikiLeaks has warned that it has distributed a heavily encrypted version of some of its most important documents and that the information could be instantly made public if the staff were arrested.
For days, WikiLeaks has been hounded by governments, hackers and companies that have forced it to move from one website to another. WikiLeaks is now relying on a Swedish host. But WikiLeaks' Swedish servers were crippled after coming under suspected attack again Monday, the latest in a series of such assaults.
It was not clear who was organizing the attacks, but WikiLeaks has blamed previous ones on intelligence forces in the U.S. and elsewhere.
WikiLeaks' huge online following of tech-savvy young people has pitched in, setting up more than 500 mirrors.
"There is a whole new generation, digital natives, born with the Internet, that understands the freedom of communication," said Pascal Gloor, vice president of the Swiss Pirate Party, whose Swiss Web address, wikileaks.ch, has been serving as a mainstay for WikiLeaks traffic.
"It's not a left-right thing anymore. It's a generational thing between the politicians who don't understand that it's too late for them to regulate the Internet and the young who use technology every day."
Meanwhile, the Swiss postal system's financial arm, Postfinance, shut down a bank account set up by Assange to receive donations after the agency determined that he provided false information regarding his place of residence in opening the account. Assange had listed his lawyer's address in Geneva.
"He will get his money back," Postfinance spokesman Alex Josty said. "We just close the account."
Assange's lawyers said the ccount contained about $41,000. Over the weekend, the online payment service PayPal cut off WikiLeaks and, according to his Assange's lawyers, froze $80,000 of the organization's money.
The group is left with only a few options for raising money now — through a Swiss-Icelandic credit card processing center and accounts in Iceland and Germany.
Monday marked the first day that WikiLeaks did not publish any new cables. It was unclear whether that had anything to do with the computer attacks.
John Heilprin contributed to this story from Geneva. Anne Flaherty and Alicia A. Caldwell in Washington, Raphael G. Satter in London and Malin Rising in Stockholm also contributed.


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Rule #1 - Be Patient - Rule #2 - Don't ask when, if you don't contribute - Rule #3 - You have coding skills - LinuxMCE's small brother is available: http://www.agocontrol.com
I was wondering if there was general interest in integrating Digital Audio Broadcast (preferably V2) into MCE? Given that DAB is rapidly gaining a geographic spread across Europe, and is starting in Australia next January, I would see it as logical to manage all media services from the one platform. I would therefore like to be able to either watch DVB TV, listen/watch stored music/video, and listen to digital audio. It would of course be preferable in this context to be able to e.g. replace the DVB audio feed with a suitable DAB feed in some cases.


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Setting up your company as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) offers the simplicity of few compliance requirements and the peace of mind that your personal assets are protected. In addition to filing your articles of organization with the state when establishing your LLC, you should also consider setting some internal ground rules for how you manage and run your LLC.
To make sure all members of your LLC (including yourself!) understand their roles and responsibilities, I recommend creating an operating agreement. Although most states don't require you to have one, you should consider it. It provides evidence that your personal and business affairs are separate. And an operating agreement can go a long way toward helping you avoid misunderstandings, arguments, and all-out brawls between business partners.
Most LLC operating agreements are short and sweet, and they typically address the following five points:
1. Percent of Ownership/How You'll Distribute Profits
Many LLCs choose to assign members' percent of ownership according to the percentage of the total funds they invested into the business. This isn't always the case, however. For example: Although one member may have invested 80 percent of the funds, the one who invested 20 percent might be doing more work in running the business. Therefore, it might seem fairer for members to have more equal ownership percentages. Your operating agreement should specify the percent of ownership to make it completely clear.
The same goes for distribution of profits. LLCs offer flexibility in how you can split your business profits. While often the percent of profits individual members get is directly related to ownership percentage, you might decide a different arrangement would be appropriate. Your operating agreement should spell that out, so there's no confusion.
2. Your LLC's Management Structure/Members' Roles And Responsibilities
When you form your LLC, you can choose to set it up as either member-managed or manager-managed. When member-managed, the owners run the company day in and day out, actively making decisions and conducting business. If you opt to have your LLC manager-managed, you elect a manager to run the business. It's important to specify the roles and responsibilities of your LLC's members (and manager, if applicable), so everyone knows what they should be doing and the authority they have.
3. How You'll Make Decisions
For decisions that require a vote by members, your operating agreement should identify if they need a majority or unanimous outcome. In many states, the default is for voting power in LLCs to be proportional to ownership percentage. If this suits your business, great! But if it doesn't, you can modify it so it makes sense for your situation. You could even give all decision-making authority to one person if you like. Or you might state that one person has responsibility for day-to-day operational decisions, but major decisions (such as entering major contracts with vendors or buying another business) require the agreement of members.
4. What Happens If A Member Wants Out
In the event any members decide to exit the business, you need to address what will happen to their ownership interests. Having this laid out in your LLC operating agreement will ensure you're not scrambling to figure it when someone leaves for personal reasons (or—heaven forbid—dies).
For example, you might stipulate that if a member chooses to leave voluntarily, she must offer her ownership interest to the other members before seeking anyone else to buy it. If a member passes away, you can document that the transfer of her ownership to a third party needs approval by the other members. I recommend your operating agreement also describe what should happen if a member files for bankruptcy or gets a divorce.
5. What Happens If You Want To Close Your Business
You won't have dissolving your LLC top of mind when launching your business, but it's wise to think about the unthinkable just in case it does become an unwelcome reality. Considerations to address in our operating agreement include the steps that should be taken when dissolving the LLC and how your LLC's assets should be divided after its debts are paid.
I encourage business owners to treat their operating agreements as living documents. As things change in how you want to run your company, you should update your LLC operating agreement to reflect modifications in the roles of members, changes in how you'll want profits distributed, a new business address, etc. By making sure your operating agreement reflects your current situation, you'll be better prepared to handle any questions or misunderstandings that arise regarding how your company should be run.
Fortunately, most LLC operating agreements need only be a few pages long to cover all the necessary bases. You can find numerous samples on the Internet to get an idea of how you might structure yours. As with any legal document, I recommend you consider asking an attorney to review your operating agreement to make sure it has all the elements and detail you need to avoid issues down the line.
Copyright © 2024 SCORE Association, SCORE.org
Funded, in part, through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. All opinions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA.


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AC/DC Release Official Statement on Malcolm Young's Health + Future of Band by Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann April 16, 2014 11:10 AM – LOUDWIRE
Although AC/DC singer Brian Johnson just revealed in a new interview that the band would not be breaking up, AC/DC have just released their first official statement addressing the reports that have surfaced over the past few days. The band states that guitarist Malcolm Young will be "taking a break from the band due to ill health," but also makes it clear that AC/DC will continue to make music.
For quite some time, it has been rumored that one member of AC/DC has been dealing with serious health issues. The band remained quiet about the matter, but since countless conflicting reports have been swirling around the Internet the past few days, AC/DC have finally confirmed the ill health of Malcolm Young.
It was reported on April 15 that Young had suffered a stroke, while a source reportedly close to the Young family claimed Malcolm could be dealing with Alzheimer's, dementia or even cancer. The source also says Malcolm Young has had difficulty communication and remembering "familiar faces."
AC/DC finally made Malcolm Young's ill health public in the following statement posted on the band's Facebook page:
After forty years of life dedicated to AC/DC, guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young is taking a break from the band due to ill health. Malcolm would like to thank the group's diehard legions of fans worldwide for their never-ending love and support.
In light of this news, AC/DC asks that Malcolm and his family's privacy be respected during this time. The band will continue to make music.
AC/DC are scheduled to start jamming possible new material in May. "We're going to pick up some guitars, have a plonk, and see if anybody has got any tunes or ideas," Brian Johnson tells the Telegraph. "If anything happens, we'll record it."
Stay tuned for AC/DC news and updates on the health of Malcolm Young as reports are made public.


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Strong US Job Growth Leads To Drop In Black/Hispanic Unemployment – Analysis
By Dean Baker
The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent in January, bringing its drop over the last year to 0.8 percentage points. African Americans in particular saw an especially sharp decline in unemployment, with their overall rate falling by 2.2 percentage points to 13.6 percent, the lowest level since March of 2009. The unemployment rate for African American men over age 20 fell by 3.0 percentage points to 12.7 percent, the lowest level since November of 2008. The drop for women over age 20 was 1.3 percentage points to 12.6 percent. The unemployment rate for Hispanics dropped by 0.5 percentage points to 10.5 percent, the lowest since January of 2009. These numbers are erratic and may be partially reversed in future months.
The gains for whites were more modest, with the overall unemployment rate edging down by 0.1 percentage points to 7.4 percent. The unemployment rate for white men over age 20 fell by 0.2 percentage points to 6.9 percent, while it was unchanged for women over age 20 at 6.8 percent. The unemployment rate for all men and women over age 20 is now the same at 7.7 percent, the first time they have been equal since the recession began in December, 2007.
Other data in the household survey were more mixed. There was a small rise in the number of workers unemployed involuntarily; although, this followed sharp declines the prior two months. The percentage of unemployment due to quits edged up slightly, but remains very low and even below the levels of October and November.
The establishment survey showed a gain of 243,000 jobs with the private sector adding 257,000. With upward revisions to job growth for the prior two months, job growth has now averaged 201,000 over the last three months. Ignoring Census hiring, this is the strongest three-month stretch since February to April of last year when job growth averaged 239,000 a month.
The revisions actually improved the picture more than may be apparent, since a quirky 42,200 rise in courier jobs for December was completely eliminated in the revision. Instead, the revised data show a 63,000 increase in jobs in professional and technical services for December, instead of the 12,000 previously reported. This was largely due to more jobs in employment services, which reportedly rose by 21,800 in December and by 33,200 last month. This is the sort of healthy job growth in this sector that often precedes more permanent hires.
Manufacturing employed increased by 50,000 in January after rising by 32,000 in December. Most of the jobs came in the fabricated metal, machinery and transportation sector. Construction also had strong growth for the second-consecutive month, adding 21,000 jobs in January after an increase of 31,000 in December. Undoubtedly this rise was partly a result of unusually good weather in the Northeast and Midwest.
Health care employment rose by 30,900 in January after three months in which employment growth averaged just 15,000. Restaurants added 30,000 in January, somewhat above the 25,000 average over the last year. State and local employment fell by just 8,000, the smallest drop since June. The impact of cutbacks at this level may be diminishing in the months ahead. Federal government employment fell by 6,000 in January. This is likely to continue, but because there are many fewer federal employees, the rate of job loss has less impact than the state and local job cuts.
Wage growth has averaged 1.6 percent over the last quarter, roughly the same rate as over the last year. Average weekly hours were unchanged overall, but rose by 0.3 hours in manufacturing. This could indicate more hiring in future months.
The January report is undoubtedly one of the best reports that we have seen since the recession began. Clearly weather played some role in making the report better than otherwise would be the case, most obviously in the construction data, but good weather probably led to somewhat better numbers for manufacturing and restaurants as well. However, even with some reversal of this effect in future months, it is likely that we are on a somewhat stronger job growth path, perhaps as high as 200,000 a month. While this is markedly better than what we had been seeing, at this rate we would not get back to full employment until 2020.


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New 2024 Forest River RV Rockwood Roo 235S Expandable
Elevate Your Camping Experience at Campers Inn RV! Get Your Camp On!Forest River Rockwood Roo expandable 235S highlights:
- Fireplace
- Booth Dinette
- Shower Skylight
- Exterior Griddle
- Easy Reach Latch System
This expandable includes a large slide out that will make you feel right at home, so come take a look! The LED TV and fireplace is right across from the sofa for easy viewing, and there is a booth dinette to dine together. The chef of the family can cook indoors on the three burner cooktop, or outdoors on the exterior griddle. Tuck your belongings in the overhead shelves, and snacks can go in the pantry. Don't forget about the exterior storage for your larger camp gear!
With any Rockwood Roo expandable travel trailer by Forest River you will enjoy smooth towing thanks to the torsion axle, Rubber-Ryde suspension, the easy lube axles and Nev-R-Adjust brakes, and the Goodyear Endurance tires. The key-Alike locks provide easy access in and out of your trailer, and each model includes a Teton all-in-one WiFi booster with LTE prep and an antenna for all your connection needs. Each model is constructed with a vacuum laminated one-piece roof and walls, an enclosed underbelly, and frameless windows for a more sleek look. You will enjoy many interior comforts, including hardwood cabinet doors and drawer fronts, pleated night shades, a bunk/fan light combo with each bed, and much more!
You Save: $9,983
Sale Price: $40,450
Stock# 87402
Interior Color: STANDARD
Sleeps | 7 |
Slides | 1 |
Length | 24 ft 10 in |
Ext Width | 8 ft |
Ext Height | 10 ft 11 in |
Interior Color | STANDARD |
Hitch Weight | 738 lbs |
Dry Weight | 5639 lbs |
Cargo Capacity | 1259 lbs |
Fresh Water Capacity | 54 gals |
Grey Water Capacity | 30 gals |
Black Water Capacity | 30 gals |
Furnace BTU | 35000 btu |
Available Beds | Two Queen Tent End Beds |
Refrigerator Type | 12V |
Cooktop Burners | 3 |
Number of Awnings | 1 |
Water Heater Type | Quick Recovery Gas/Electric |
AC BTU | 13500 btu |
TV Info | LR LED TV |
Awning Info | 18' Power w/Adjustable Rain Dump & LED Lighting |
Axle Count | 2 |
Shower Type | Radius |
Rockwood Roo 235S Reviews


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Source Information
About UK, Mechanical Engineer Records, 1847-1938
This database contains documents relating to membership in the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1847–1938.
Historical Background
In 1847, fifty-six engineers and manufacturers met in Birmingham to found the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), with railway pioneer George Stephenson as the group's first president. Its founders wanted 'to give an impulse to inventions likely to be useful to the world'. IMechE started graduateship examinations in 1913 and elected its first female member in 1924. A 1947 merger with the Institution of Automobile Engineers (IAE) led to an Automobile Division, and in 1969 a similar merger with the Institution of Locomotive Engineers (ILE) established a Railway Division.
This database contains registers of members, proposals for memberships and changes to membership (such as associate member to member), and related records, including the following IMechE collections:
- membership records of IMechE (1847–1930)
- register of members (1847–1930)
- typescript membership proposal forms
- membership records of IAE (1906–1938)
- membership records of ILE (1915–1938)
Indexed records and their associated images found after 1938 have been excluded to conform with privacy restrictions.
Engineering records from the late 19th century document a particularly important era in UK history. Records like these can tie into occupations in the census, railway records, and trade union records, as well as revealing biographical details and work patterns over time.
What You May Find in the Records
Records may include the following details:
- age
- birth date
- birthplace
- event date
- education
- apprenticeship details
- work experience, with dates, places, employers
- names of those who proposed a new member and supported his or her election


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Monday, July 30, 2007
Strawberry Mirror Cake: Daring Bakers July
This month Peabody of Culinary Concoctions chose a beautiful Strawberry Mirror Cake for the July Daring Baker Challenge. The cake consists of 3 parts: sponge cake, strawberry Bavarian cream, and a strawberry gelatin (none of which I have made before). The whole process took Bettina and I about 2 days to complete. Out of all the days in this month, we just happened to pick the hottest day of this year (remember me complaining about that heat wave?) to do the challenge, which was not a good idea.
The Cake:
I was a little worried the cake would taste too eggy since the recipe called for 6 eggs. Three of the eggs were separated and the whites were beaten to stiff peaks and the 3 yolks were combined with the 3 remaining eggs and beaten "until thick and light." I've never made a sponge cake before so I thought I could beat the eggs by hand, while I leave my KitchenAid to beat the whites. I was feeling particularly lethargic in the heat that day so I didn't want to wash out my mixing bowl after beating the eggs to beat the whites. This is rather ironic because washing the bowl would have taken one minute whereas we spent 10 times longer beating them by hand. I had no trouble beating the whites but beating the eggs by hand was not a good idea when it was 90 degrees indoors. Bettina and I had to take turns beating the eggs. After 10 seconds of beating we would break into a sweat and have to go sit in front of the fan to cool off while the other person took over the beating. They looked a tad thicker but little did I know, they were suppose to double, triple, even quadruple their original volume! The color was supposed to be very pale yellow but mine were still very yellow. Some DBs beat the eggs for 20 minutes in a KA, imagine how long I would have had to beat by hand to achieve the same result! Eek! In the end we were fed up with the eggs and proceeded to the next step. The eggs were still very liquidy rather than light and voluminous, so folding in the cake flour and the whites was very troublesome.
When the cakes emerged from the oven (450 degree oven on a hot summer day, not fun), the tops were an even golden brown and looked very nice. They were springy to the touch. However, they had shrunk to about 7 1/2 inches in diameter, when I baked them in an 8in cake pan. When I flipped the cake out to cool, I noticed the bottom felt tough and rubbery. I crossed my fingers and hoped it was just a thin layer on the bottom of the cake that would be remedied by pouring the cream on top.
The Cream and Mirror:
No major problems with the Bavarian cream or mirror. There was a little foam and bubbles on top of the mirror that I neglected to skim off so the mirror wasn't as shiny or smooth as it could have been. (I was getting a little lazy towards the end.)
The Assembly:
Now here is where it got tricky. In the original recipe, the cake is baked in a 11 by 17 jelly roll pan and then 8 1/4 in diameter cake rounds are cut out of the rectangular sheet cake. A round is placed in a 10 in springform then the Bavarian cream is poured over it when it is thick but still somewhat liquidy. I had a 10 in springform pan however, since my cake layers had shrunk to 7 1/2 inches, that would mean the outer layer of frosting would be over an inch thick, way too thick. I didn't have a 9 in springform but using my Daring Baker ingenuity (dun da da dun!), I fashioned a foil collar that I set around the cake so I could pour in the Bavarian without the outer layer being overly thick of cream. I had to tuck the bottom of the foil under the cake so the cream wouldn't leak. I really wish I had remembered to take a picture of this setup because it was quite a hilarious and ridiculous sight. Bettina and I cracked up every time we looked this "disposable springform".
The Final Verdict:
The Bavarian was fluffy and airy when I made it but setting overnight in the fridge it ended up being a little too rubbery for my tastes. I've never made or had Bavarian cream before so I wasn't sure if Bavarian cream was supposed to have that texture. However, I really loved the flavor of the cream. It was light, full of the lovely flavor and fragrance of fresh strawberries. The strawberries impart a beautiful and delicate pink hue to the cream. When I sliced into the cake, I saw that the bottom 1/3 of the cake was a rubbery inedible mess (due to not beating the eggs enough). The top 2/3 of the cake was spongy and delicious, not too eggy at all. My favorite part aside from the top part of the cake that was actually edible was the mirror. The mirror was the best strawberry gelatin I've ever had. Overall the cake tasted alright but I think I could have done a better job.
I was dissatisfied with the end result of this cake, not because of the recipe, but because of my mistakes and inexperience. I will definitely try my hand at the cake again. I'll remake the sponge cake for a Boston Cream Pie. Next time I remake the Bavarian cream I'll use a little less gelatin.
The Recipe:
Visit Peabody's blog for the complete recipe, courtesy of "Cakes and Pastries At The Academy by the California Culinary Academy". Be sure to check out all the beautiful mirror cakes by visiting the Daring Bakers Blog Roll.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Farfalle with Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, and Artichoke Hearts
Smoked salmon and cream cheese is always a delicious combination. I knew it would be great on pasta but Steven needed a little convincing. He was a bit skeptical about putting cream cheese with pasta. Turns out, smoked salmon and cream cheese isn't just for bagels, it's great on farfalle too!
Farfalle with Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, and Artichoke Hearts
Inspiration from Everyday Food
8 oz. farfalle
3 oz. smoked salmon, roughly chopped
About 2 oz. cream cheese (3 - 4 Tbsp) cream cheese, roughly cubed
4 artichoke hearts, chopped into bite size pieces
Handful of bite size broccoli pieces (optional)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp fresh dill (optional - I didn't use this today)
Salt and pepper
Cook your pasta in some boiling salted water until it is al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, cook your broccoli, steam, microwave, or sauteed.
After the pasta is finish cooking, add the cream cheese to the hot pasta. Toss a bit to melt the cream cheese a bit. Then add the smoked salmon, artichoke hearts, broccoli if using, and lemon juice and toss to incorporate all the ingredients. Gently break up any large pieces of salmon.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 2 - 3
This will be my entry for Ruth's Presto Pasta Night. Never such a thing as too much pasta!
Short post today, but stay tuned for a longer post tomorrow of a "Daring" nature.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
A Tart for Julia - Mango Lime Curd Tart
My friend Julia came over for dinner Friday night because she is leaving for the University of California, Irvine where she will be
Mango Lime Curd Tart
Lime Curd
1/3 C lime juice, roughly juice from 2 small limes
1 to 2 tsp lime zest, zest from 1 - 2 limes
Save some zest on the limes to garnish the tart
1/2 C sugar
3 eggs
3 Tbsp butter
*Half a mango cut into 1/8 in crescent slices
1 prebaked tart shell
Additional lime zest for garnish
Start preparing the tart crust first (click here for tart crust recipe. The dough will need to chill for at least an hour, then rolled out, chilled again for at least 30 minutes, baked for at least 35 minutes, and then cooled to room temp.
Whisk the eggs, sugar, and zest together. Whisk in the lime juice and butter and cook the mixture of medium heat. Continue whisking until the butter is completely melted then use a spatula and stir the curd constantly. Cook the curd until the mixture has thickened. The spatula should leave a clear trail that slowly disappears. Do not overcook the curd otherwise it will curdle.
Immediately pour the curd through a sieve into a bowl. Use the spatula to push all the curd through. The zest will most likely remain in the sieve and you can discard that since it will no longer be a vibrant green. Press a sheet of plastic wrap against the surface of the curd to prevent a skin from forming on top. Chill in the fridge for a few hours to thicken slightly. The curd can be made a day in advance.
To make the tart, spoon the curd into the prebaked tart shell that has been cooled to room temp. You may not use all of the curd, I used about half (the rest you can spread on toast, yum yum). Arrange the mango slices on top of the curd and garnish with some additional lemon zest.
*In retrospect: For even more mango in the tart (using a whole mango rather than half), arrange mango slices from half the mango in the tart shell before adding the curd. Then fill the tart with the curd and arrange the remaining half of the mango on top.
Mangoes are one of my favorite tropical fruits so this will be my entry for the 33rd edition of Sugar High Friday: Tropical Paradise hosted by Mary of Alpineberry.
Flaky Pate Sucree
Pate sucree is one of the three basic French pastry crusts (pate brisee - the all purpose crust used for pies, savory and sweet tarts, pate sucree - a sweet crust used for tarts, and pate sablee - the sandy crumbly crust). It is sweeter than the all purpose pie crust, the pate brisee, however the texture can vary. Some recipes call for creaming the butter and sugar then adding the flour, resulting in a crumbly, shortbread cookie-like crust. Whereas other recipes diverge and call for processing or cutting the butter into the flour sugar mixture, which is the same method used to create a pate brisee. This recipe uses the latter technique and yields a sweet, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth crust that is unbelievably good. I'll try the creaming the butter and flour for the next tart but I have a feeling I will be coming back to this recipe again and again.
Prebaked Flaky Pate Sucree
for an 8 or 9 inch pan
1 C flour
1/3 C confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp cold milk or ice water
1/2 tsp of vanilla
Add the flour, confectioner's sugar, and salt together in a food processor and pulse once or twice to combined. Add the pieces of butter and pulse until the butter pieces are no bigger than a pea. Alternatively use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in the butter, or freeze the butter and coarsely grate it then use your fingers and rub the pieces into the flour. It is very important to keep the butter cold otherwise it will melt and make the crust greasy and you'll lose all the flaky layers.
Mix the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla together. Drizzle the mixture over the butter and flour mix in the food processor. Pulse again until the dough start to form large clumps. If it looks too dry add a little more milk.
Scrape the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and press the clumps together to form a disc. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and chill at least an hour up to overnight. Or store it in the freezer for as long as you want.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin and roll out the dough to into a large circle. Move the crust around often to make sure it doesn't stick to your work surface.
Transfer the dough to an 8 or 9 inch tart pan. To make this easier, drape the dough over the rolling pin and lay it over the pan. Lift the edges of the crust and gently press the dough down into the pan. Roll over the top of the pan with a rolling pin to trim any overhanging dough.
Prick the surface of the dough with a fork. Press a sheet of aluminum foil onto a crust and add pie weights, beans, or clean pennies on top. I like using pennies because they are the best heat conductor. Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and baking weights (be careful the weights will be very hot!) and return the crust to the oven to bake for another 10 or so minutes until it is golden. Cool to room temperature before filling.
Prebaked Flaky Pate Sucree
for an 8 or 9 inch pan
1 C flour
1/3 C confectioner's sugar
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp cold butter, cut into 6 pieces
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp cold milk or ice water
1/2 tsp of vanilla
Add the flour, confectioner's sugar, and salt together in a food processor and pulse once or twice to combined. Add the pieces of butter and pulse until the butter pieces are no bigger than a pea. Alternatively use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in the butter, or freeze the butter and coarsely grate it then use your fingers and rub the pieces into the flour. It is very important to keep the butter cold otherwise it will melt and make the crust greasy and you'll lose all the flaky layers.
Mix the egg yolk, milk, and vanilla together. Drizzle the mixture over the butter and flour mix in the food processor. Pulse again until the dough start to form large clumps. If it looks too dry add a little more milk.
Scrape the dough onto a large piece of plastic wrap and press the clumps together to form a disc. Wrap the dough in the plastic wrap and chill at least an hour up to overnight. Or store it in the freezer for as long as you want.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin and roll out the dough to into a large circle. Move the crust around often to make sure it doesn't stick to your work surface.
Transfer the dough to an 8 or 9 inch tart pan. To make this easier, drape the dough over the rolling pin and lay it over the pan. Lift the edges of the crust and gently press the dough down into the pan. Roll over the top of the pan with a rolling pin to trim any overhanging dough.
Prick the surface of the dough with a fork. Press a sheet of aluminum foil onto a crust and add pie weights, beans, or clean pennies on top. I like using pennies because they are the best heat conductor. Bake on the middle rack for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and baking weights (be careful the weights will be very hot!) and return the crust to the oven to bake for another 10 or so minutes until it is golden. Cool to room temperature before filling.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Basil and Mushrooms
The once tiny basil plant on the back porch is now very large and bushy so I'm always looking for ways to incorporate basil into recipes so I can keep up with the plant. This variation of Spaghetti alla Carbonara incorporates basil and sauteed mushrooms with the classic recipe. Carbonara is Steven's favorite meal and in the end he preferred the original version of just bacon, eggs, and cheese instead of this one. However, I found the flavors very enjoyable and a little change is nice sometimes.
Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Basil and Mushrooms
4 oz thick sliced bacon, chopped
4 oz. crimini mushrooms, sliced
2 eggs
1/2 C grated Parmesan
Freshly ground black pepper, generous amount but to taste
8 oz spaghetti
A handful of basil leaves, torn into small pieces or chiffonade
Heat a skillet over medium heat to render the bacon. Once the bacon is crisp, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside in a bowl. Bring a pot of water to a boil.
Pour out all of the rendered fat of the skillet reserving about 1 - 2 tsp of sauteing the mushrooms. Saute the mushrooms until they are brown and all the liquid has evaporated. Add the mushrooms to the bacon and set aside. As the mushrooms are cooking, start boiling your pasta.
As the spaghetti cooks, beat the eggs, parmesan, and pepper together in a bowl. The sauce must be prepared before the pasta is done cooking.
When the pasta is al dente, quickly drain but reserve some of the pasta water to loosen the sauce if needed. Immediately return the pasta to the pot (off heat) and pour the egg mixture over the pasta, add the bacon and mushrooms, and quickly stir into the pasta. The residual heat from the pasta and pot will cook the eggs and thicken it into a sauce. Keep stirring until the sauce has thickened and evenly coats the pasta. Work quickly otherwise the eggs will scramble rather than temper into a smooth and creamy sauce. If the sauce is too thick add a bit of the pasta water to loosen it. Serve immediately and add more freshly ground pepper if you'd like. I like mine really peppery.
Serves 2.
I'm going to submit this recipe for Ruth's Presto Pasta Night.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Two Birthdays, A Whole Lot of Food, Roses, and Animals
This year for Steven's and my birthdays, we
I packed:
Ham and Butter Sandwich
Salami, Pastrami, Spinach and Cream Cheese Sandwich
Bread and butter
Seattle rolls: smoked salmon and cream cheese sushi rolls
Cold noodles: a must since noodles are a Chinese birthday tradition! long noodles = longevity
Cheese and meat platter: white Stilton, danish blue, cheddar, Parmesan, salami, prosciutto, pastrami, ham
Crackers, grapes, and raspberries
White wine and mango lemonade
I first tasted a ham and butter sandwich at Le Fournil, a wonderful French bakery in the Seattle area. It was so simple and delicious. It's really important to use good butter, bread, and ham since the flavors of the sandwich are really subtle and clean, the ingredients will really shine. I used some Kerrygold Irish butter; this is the butter I couldn't get enough of at the cheese festival. After reading comments on Jaden's post about bread and butter, some other recommended brands are Lurpak, a Danish butter, and Presidente, a French butter. Just don't use any old regular brand, splurge for the expensive stuff! It's sooo worth it to indulge! And don't you dare use "I can't believe it's not butter" because I can believe it, and it's not butter. ;) After some Googling, ham and butter doesn't seem like a popular combination but it always struck me as a classic French sandwich. Maybe fellow French food bloggers/readers can offer some more info?
Ham and Butter Sandwich*
A section of crusty baguette cut in half
2 - 3 oz. of ham, about 3 - 4 slices
1 Tbsp high quality butter
1 - 2 tsp Dijon mustard
Spread a thin layer of Dijon on one slice of bread, and spread butter on the other slice. Layer with ham and close the sandwich. Cut in half and serve somewhat chilled.
The butter will be hard to spread if it is chilled so wait for it to warm up a little to soften so it's easier to spread. Then chill the sandwich to chill the butter.
The idea of salami and cream cheese in a sandwich came from Everyday Food. I had never thought of pairing cream cheese with anything other than preserves or smoked salmon, but this sandwich was truly delicious. The salami and pastrami are very flavorful meats, the cream cheese added a luscious, creamy smoothness, and the spinach is a rich green that holds its own in this robust sandwich. Don't skimp on the cream cheese and no buying reduced fat! You can't go wrong with Philadelphia, my favorite brand.
This sandwich, featuring the very healthy spinach, will be my entry for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, a fantastic event created by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen, and hosted this week by Susan of Food Blogga. Food fact: After cooking the volume of spinach will decrease by 3/4. Spinach is loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, bone building nutrients, and other healthy compounds. Eating your spinach will help prevent cancers, osteoporosis, heart disease, arthritis, delay loss of mental function, prevents and even reverse macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in the elderly.
Salami, Pastrami, and Spinach Cream Cheese Sandwich*
2 slices of bread or a section of crusty baguette cut in half
3 - 4 slices of salami
2 - 3 slices of pastrami
A handful of baby spinach leaves
2 Tbsp softened cream cheese
Optional: 1 - 2 tsp Dijon mustard
Spread a thin layer of dijon on one slice of bread (optional). Top first slice of bread with a layer of salami, followed by pastrami, and then a thick layer of baby spinach leaves.
Spread the cream cheese on the second slice of bread and close the sandwich. Cut in half and enjoy!
*The quantities are really estimations, since I made the sandwiches without measuring the ingredients exactly. If you like more meat feel free to pile it on or if you really like cream cheese or butter, like me go, ahead and add more! :)
For more pictures:
Rose Garden
Regrettably many of the zoo pictures turned out too blurry and I'm not a big picture taker at the zoo to begin with. The red panda was awfully cute though! The butterfly house was very nice also.
BBQ Chicken Quesadilla
The last few days have been unbearably hot, with yesterday being one of the top 10 hottest days ever recorded here in Seattle. I was too lethargic to do get up and do anything other than lay on the couch and complain about the heat. Pardon the silence on this blog, as I haven't been cooking much or blogging. But like Jaden, there are so many old recipes I still haven't gotten around to posting, so now is a good time to do so.
BBQ Chicken Quesadilla was a very popular menu item at my favorite lunch spot near the UW, Honeybee's Cafe (which sadly closed two years ago). It's been a long time since I've had a Honeybee's quesadilla, but from what I can remember, the original quesadilla had grilled chicken, tomatoes, Monterey Jack cheese, tomatoes, green onions, and BBQ sauce in a tomato flour tortilla. This quesadilla is very flexible the only constants are: tortilla, chicken, your favorite BBQ sauce (Cook's Illustrated likes Bull's Eye Original), and cheese. The rest of the ingredients depend on what you have on hand. So here rather than offering an exact recipe, it's just a few tips on making a yummy quesadilla, which I learned from watching America's Test Kitchen.
Barbeque Chicken Quesadilla
Flour Tortillas
Chicken, cut up into large chunks (You can use grilled chicken, leftover roast chicken or bbq chicken, doesn't really matter)
Coarsley grated cheese (Cheddar, Monterey, Pepper Jack, or a combo)
Thinly sliced green onions or red onions
Fresh tomatoes or fresh tomato salsa, drained (if using this then omit the onions)
Corn (frozen is almost as good as fresh)
BBQ Sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
Few dashes of Tabasco if you like it hot
Lime juice, just a little bit (omit if using fresh tomato salsa)
- Toast your corn
Toasting the corn brings out a nice roasted, toasty flavor and evaporates the moisture so it doesn't leak into the quesadilla. This is an essential ingredient in all of my quesadilas now. (Frozen corn also doubles as a handy ice pack if you ever jam your finger in a door like Steven. :( Ouch!)
Heat a small nonstick skillet pan over high or medium high heat (no oil!) and add your corn. Shake the pan occasionally until you see the corn turn a dark brown in spots and pop out of your pan. Yes it will literally jump out of the skillet. Set aside for the filling.
- Make your quesadillas
There's a lot of flexibility here with what goes in so you can be the judge of that. Just don't make them too stuffed otherwise it'll be too hard to flip.
Also, rather than making the quesadilla with one tortilla on the bottom and one on the top and forming a sandwich (this is too hard to flip, stuff will fall out). Add your filling to only half the tortilla (leave a 1/2 in border around the edge) then you flip the other half over and make a half moon shape. This way, less yummy filling falls out. You can also cook two of these in a pan.
- Cooking the quesadilla
If you add the oil directly to the pan it won't evenly distribute to cover the entire quesadilla and sometimes you end up using too much oil leading to overly greasy quesadillas and oily fingers.
So instead, use a pastry brush and brush the tortilla a thin layer of vegetable oil. This ensures that the quesadilla will be evenly covered using the least amount of oil as possible. Optional step: sprinkle a little bit of salt over the oil so it will be even more crisp (I always forget to do this).
Cook the quesadilla over medium heat, oil side down, until the bottoms are crisp and golden brown, it'll will take a few minutes. Then brush the top of the quesadilla with some more oil and carefully flip them over. The second side will take less time because the pan will be hotter.
Slide them out and let it sit for 2 - 3 minutes for the cheese to set. Then cut into wedges and serve.
I'm not the only Seattleite who can't stand the heat, Pea made an absolutely drool-worthy ice cream.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Cherry Clafouti
Remember when I said the best thing about living in the Pacific Northwest was the salmon? Well it's a tie between the salmon and the cherries. Washington state is the top cherry grower, producing about 50% of the nation's supply. Oh how I love the cherries; I look forward to them every summer. A few years ago my dad and I bought a bag of the biggest Bing cherries I'd ever seen, they were the size of ping pong balls I want to say (okay maybe a tiny bit smaller than ping pong balls but they were big!), and were soooo sweet. Every summer since then we would talk about those cherries and how we regret only buying one bag. "Hey remember those cherries we got a few years ago?" "Yeah... *wistful sigh*" I have yet to find cherries that big again. Anyways, now that we're in the middle of cherry season, which thankfully is very long (from early June to mid August), Bettina and I pretty much eat, sleep, and breathe cherries. Seriously we sometimes go through about a pound a day, each! The ones that escaped our cherry pillage ended up in clafoutis. Though in the end, I prefer my cherries uncooked but this was a classic French dessert that I wanted to try.
The clafouti is a custard-like dessert that originated in the province of Limousin in central France. Traditionally it's baked with whole, unpitted cherries because the heat releases more complex fruity and almondy notes from the pit. This is Julia Child's recipe (I mean how can you go wrong with a recipe from Julia Child?) with some minor changes. I added some almond extract to enhance the natural almondiness. The main flavor component of cherries comes from benzaldehyde, which is the same chemical as imitation almond extract (okay no more chemistry I promise). The cherries were also very sweet so I cut the sugar amount in half. You can serve clafoutis as dessert or eat them the next morning as breakfast, like Helen's grandfather.
Cherry Clafouti
Adapted from Julia Child
serves 6-8
1 1/4 cups milk, whole milk preferably
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup flour
2 - 3 C cherries (unpitted)
Powdered sugar
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Beat the eggs, sugar, salt, and extracts, then add the milk, and finally whisk in the flour. Add some cherries to individual ramekins*, don't crowd them too much, leave a little room for the batter. Depending on the size and height of your ramekins it can make about 5 - 8 servings.
Pour the batter over the cherries, bake the clafoutis until it looks golden brown, somewhat puffy, and the center is set, about 20 - 30 minutes.
Serve warm with powdered sugar dusted on top.
*The ramekins I used ended up being a bit too small, I baked 2 in these oval fluted creme brulee ramekins and 4 in round ramekins with taller sides.
Helen's Mirabelle Clafoutis
Bea's Chocolate and Cherry Clafoutis (a twist on the Black Forest cake)
Dorie Greenspan's Cherry Clafoutis adapted by Anita
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Sun-dried Tomato and Olive Pesto Pasta Salad
"Oh, can you make me something to bring to a potluck?"
"Sure! When is it?"
Luckily pasta salad is one of my go-to dishes in these situations (ahem Steven, give me a little more warning next time mmkay?). It's quick to make and I can toss in whatever I have in my fridge and pantry. Bettina, Steven's sister, loves pasta salad and was my official
Sun-dried Tomato and Olive Pesto Pasta Salad
1 lb of pasta like farfalle or rotini
1/4 C lightly packed sundried tomatoes, rinsed of excess oil
1/2 C kalamata olives
1/2 C coarsely grated parmesan
1/4 C slivered almonds, toasted
a few sprigs of parsley
1/4 C olive oil
2 - 3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 - 2 tsp lemon zest, from half or whole lemon
additional lemon juice to taste
salt and pepper to taste
Boil the pasta in salted water until al dente. Set aside to cool.
Toast the almond slivers in a skillet over medium to medium high heat. Shake the pan frequently until the nuts are golden brown and set aside to cool.
In a food processor, pulse everything except for the lemon juice until it is a fine to coarse chop. When the pasta has cooled a bit, mix in the pesto. Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste.
Serve cold or at room temp.
Kung Pao Shrimp
Kung pao chicken, gong bao ji ding is virtually on every Sichuan Chinese restaurant's menu. The difference between the classic Sichuan version and the Americanized version is in the use of Sichuan peppercorns. The Sichuan peppercorn imparts an unusual numbing and spicy sensation on the tongue, known as ma la, and is used extensively in many of the region's dishes; but these peppercorns are not used in the Americanized dish. One theory is that since the peppercorns were banned from the US from 1968 up until 2005, cooks had to create this dish without the peppercorns. However, the ban was only loosely enforced until 2002 (when they really started to crack down); before then, you could find the peppercorns if you knew where to look. So perhaps another reason is that the ma la sensation was excluded so the dish could cater more to Western tastes. Now thanks to new heat treatments to kill the citrus canker, the peppercorns can now be legally purchased. So no more smuggling them from Canada or under-the-table dealings with your local Chinese restaurant. ;)
Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe was really excellent. It was so refreshing to see that the food wasn't swimming in a pool of cloyingly sweet and goopy sauce. The flavor was great and there was just enough sauce to cling to the food. I used shrimp rather than the chicken used in the traditional dish. The only problem I encountered was with the peppercorns. I wasn't sure if I should remove the peppercorns after frying them in the hot oil. Chomping down on a peppercorn while eating the dish was very unpleasant. I would suggest either use 1 tsp and fry them in hot oil to first perfume the oil, them remove them before cooking the rest of your dish or if you'd rather not deal with the hassle of removing them from the hot oil, use 1/2 tsp and crush them up into smaller more manageable size pieces. this way it doesn't completely overwhelm your palate when you bite down on a piece.
- The recipe can also be made with cubes of chicken or pork
- The original recipe does not call for any vegetables but I figured it couldn't hurt since veggies are good for you! If you are adding a significant amount of vegetables you may need to double the sauce.
Kung Pao Shrimp
Adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop's Land of Plenty
1 lb of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 garlic cloves and equivalent amount of ginger
5 scallions, white part only
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
About 10 dried red chilies
1 tsp or 1/2 tsp whole Sichuan peppercorns (see note)
2/3 C roasted peanuts or cashews
A few ribs of celery, chopped
Half a red bell pepper, chopped
Broccoli stems, chopped or slivered
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp Shao Xing rice wine
1 tsp corn starch
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
3 tsp Chinese black vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp chicken stock or water
1. Mix the ingredients for the marinade together, toss with shrimp, and let sit in the fridge while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
2. Peel and thinly slice or mince the garlic, mince the ginger, and chop the scallions. Cut the chilies in half and discard as many seeds as possible.
3. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a wok or skillet. When the oil is hot add the chilies and peppercorns and fry for a few seconds until they are fragrant (take care not to burn the peppercorns, lower the heat if you need to, shorten the frying time if you're using crushed peppercorns). Add the shrimp (and any vegetable if using) and fry for about 30 seconds then add the green onions, garlic, and ginger. When the shrimp is almost fully cooked, add the sauce (stir it a little to recombine) and cook until the sauce is thick and shiny and the shrimp is cooked through.
5. You can mix the peanuts/cashews in or scatter them on top.
Another great idea from Jaden: make your own Sichuan peppercorn salt. You can probably use this and sprinkle it on the dish.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Green Tea Ice Cream
Ever since I bought my ice cream maker back in February, I have a mile long list of ice cream flavors I want to make this summer. Now that I finally got a copy of "The Perfect Scoop" that list has tripled, maybe quadrupled. I'm jumping on the bandwagon a little late here but man that book is a-ma-zing! When Meeta announced the theme for this months Monthly Mingle, I had a hard time deciding which ice cream flavor to make. I finally settled on green tea ice cream (and whatdoya know David has a recipe for it!) with the intention of wrapping them in mochi, ala Mikawaya. Unfortunately, the mochi making turned out to be a disaster. It stuck everywhere and to everything. I could not get it off my hands let alone wrap it around ice cream. They weren't kidding when they said that stuff is sticky. (I read that not even the Heimlich can dislodge it!) Thankfully the ice cream was delicious so I didn't dwell long on the failed mochi.
- I changed the milk/cream ratio because I didn't have enough cream and I felt almost guilty using as much as the recipe suggested, though I'm sure it would have made the ice cream even more delicious! I stuck with the recommended number of egg yolks, though I only had extra large eggs so the end result was a tad eggy, but again it was really delicious so no complaints.
- I also divided the recipe in half
- And since my matcha was ancient, I had to increase the amount from the recipe's 2 tsp and regrettably I didn't achieve the brilliant green of the photographed ice cream in the book.
Green Tea Ice Cream
Adapted from David Lebovitz "The Perfect Scoop"
3/4 C milk
3/4 C heavy cream
3 egg yolks
6 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp matcha powder
1/8 tsp salt
Heat the milk and salt in a saucepan over medium heat until it is hot but not boiling. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until it's pale yellow and ribbony.
Anchor your mixing bowl by placing a damp kitchen towel around the base of the bowl. Slowly drizzle in the hot milk into the egg yolks while whisking continuously.
Return the custard mixture into the saucepan and heat over medium heat. Stir continuously with a heatproof spatula while making sure to scrape the bottom. Cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula and a line drawn across the back of the mixture on the spatula stays clear. If the line blurs then continue to cook it a little longer. Don't boil the custard.
Add the matcha powder to the heavy cream then slowly whisk into the custard. Whisk the mixture until all the matcha powder has dissolved.
Chill in the fridge for a few hours. Then freeze in an ice cream maker according to the instructions.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits and Sausage Gravy
I first made these biscuits for Thanksgiving last year and hands down they are the best biscuits ever. Gone are the days of buying tubes of preservative-laden, artificially flavored biscuit dough, though I must say I miss the entertaining "pop" of opening those cylinders. These crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside biscuits are absolutely delicious on their own or smothered in sausage gravy.
Mile High Buttermilk Biscuits
From Cook's Illustrated
2 C flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 C buttermilk
Additional flour
2 Tbsp melted butter
Preheat oven to 500ºF. Spray a 9 in springform or cake pan with some nonstick spray.
Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt to a bowl and mix the ingredients together evenly. Using a fork or pastry blender, cut in the butter until the pieces are no bigger than a small pea. Fold in the buttermilk until everything is just blended, and there are no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix, the mixture should still be lumpy.
Line a plate or tray with some flour and using a 1/4 C measuring cup or 1/4 C ice cream/cookie scoop, scoop out balls of the dough onto the tray of flour. Flour your hands and roll each ball around in the flour to evenly coat them in a layer of flour. The dough is very wet and very sticky. Place the dough balls into the prepared pan. Place 9 balls around in a ring and 3 balls in the center of the pan. Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.
Bake for 5 minutes at 500ºF (middle rack) and then lower the temperature to 450ºF and bake for another 15 minutes.
In the past I've always baked these in a cake pan or springform. Alternatively you can also bake them individually in a muffin pan which is what I did this time because I'm waiting for my newly ordered cake pans and springform to arrive. I baked these on the upper middle shelf and at 450ºF for the entire time of about 17 minutes.
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